DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WOMEN: UNITED NATIONS EXPERT GROUP LAUNCHES FIRST OFFICIAL VISIT TO CHILE

28 August 2014

GENEVA / SANTIAGO (28 August 2014) – The United Nations Working Group on discrimination against women in law and in practice will undertake its first official visit to Chile from 1 to 9 September 2014 to assess the progress made towards achieving gender equality and the protection and promotion of women’s human rights.

“The Working Group is particularly interested in legislative reforms and policies that have been implemented by the Government of Chile to promote women's rights and gender equality,” said human rights expert Frances Raday, who currently heads the expert group.

“We will pay specific attention to women’s rights in the family and in cultural life, looking at achievements and good practices to eliminate discrimination against women in all aspects of family life. We will also be looking at aspects of law and practice which affect women’s reproductive health,” she added.

During its nine-day visit, the Working Group’ delegation, comprised of Ms. Raday and Alda Facio, will meet with Government officials at national and local levels, representatives of civil society organizations, as well as experts and academics.

The experts will visit Santiago, Valparaíso and Arica in order to gather first-hand information on issues related to discrimination against women in different contexts, including rural women and women in ethnic minorities.

A press conference to share the delegation’s preliminary findings will be held on Tuesday 9 September 2014 at 12h00 in the CEPAL building in Santiago de Chile (further details to follow).

Following its visit, the Working Group will present a report with its conclusions and recommendations to the twenty-ninth session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in June 2015.

The UN Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and in practice was created by the Human Rights Council in 2011 to identify, promote and exchange views, in consultation with States and other actors, on good practices related to the elimination of laws that discriminate against women. The Group is also tasked with developing a dialogue with States and other actors on laws that have a discriminatory impact where women are concerned.The Working Group is composed of five independent experts: the Current Chair-Rapporteur Frances Raday (Israel/United Kingdom), Alda Facio (Costa Rica), Kamala Chandrakirana (Indonesia), Emna Aouij (Tunisia) and Eleonora Zielinska (Poland). Learn more, log on to: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Women/WGWomen/Pages/WGWomenIndex.aspxUN Human Rights, country page – Chile: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/countries/LACRegion/Pages/CLIndex.aspxFor inquiries and media requests, please contact:
In Santiago (during the visit): Ms. María Jeannette Moya (moya.consultora@ohchr.org / +56 2 22 10 2977)
In Geneva: Bernadette Arditi (+41 22 917 9159 or +41 79 752 0485 / barditi@ohchr.org) or write to wgdiscriminationwomen@ohchr.org
For media inquiries related to other UN mandates:
Xabier Celaya, UN Human Rights – Media Unit (+ 41 22 917 9383 / xcelaya@ohchr.org)